Uncivil War
by Grykon
Summary: On the heels of 3x02 More Civil War a new AU takes shape as Paige tries to deal with her anger over Walter's childish behavior over the Tahoe Jazz Festival. This is a one shot, not sure if there will be more stories in the future but I wanted to designate it as AU 50.001. The characters belong to their copyright owners.


**Even though this is a one shot I'm designating it with it's own AU, AU 50. I don't know if I will revisit this AU but I really enjoyed this story, I hope you do too. To the Adventure! -Tim**

* * *

Having said goodnight to Tim as they left the restaurant, the entire ordeal of the last few days had really ruined her mood.

Paige was moving through her apartment straightening and cleaning. She was so mad, and doing chores always seemed to help her expel those negative emotions and thoughts but tonight it wasn't helping. 'Damn it Walter, why did you have to do that? You gave me a really great present and then you sit there and sabotage the whole thing.' Paige sighed as she stood up straight putting her hands on her hips as she looked around for something else to do.

Ralph stepped out of his bedroom and looked at his Mom standing there, "Mom?"

Paige turned in surprise as Ralph should have been asleep two hours ago. "Ralph? What are you doing up?" Paige enquired.

"You're making too much noise and it woke me up, but it's a good thing. I just realized I didn't see my school project and I need it tomorrow. I think we forgot it was in the loft." Ralph answered.

Paige closed her eyes as she exhaled, she had been so mad at Walter over the Tahoe blow up and then all the stress over the near nuclear disaster. "I'm sorry baby, it completely slipped my mind. But we have to stop by the Garage first thing in the morning anyway. So go to bed."

"But Mom; tomorrow is my early class at Caltech and that's what I need it for. We'd have to leave at 5 am accounting for traffic to pick it up and get me to Caltech on time." Ralph explained.

Paige shook her head as she sighed again as there was no way she was going to get them up and out the door that early. 'Damn it Paige,' she thought. "Okay baby, I'll go pick it up now but you got to go to bed and get a good night sleep."

Ralph smiled and walked over and hugged her, "Thanks Mom, I wouldn't have even said anything but it's 50% of my grade for the semester."

Paige smiled as she kissed him and watched him get back in bed. She looked at her watch and saw it was almost 12:30, she mentally calculated, depending on lights it'd be almost 1 AM when she got to the Garage, Walter should be asleep and she could just slip in and grab it and slip right back out. She threw on her light coat and grabbed her purse. Making sure the door was securely shut and locked; she made her way to her car and took off for the Garage.

* * *

As she pulled up outside the Garage her stomach had butterflies but seeing that the Garage looked completely dark the butterflies felt like they brought a couple of dozen kaleidoscopes with them. She stood at the door and took several deep breaths and inserted her key. She quickly unlocked the door and stepped inside. She punched in her pass code into the security system and then locked the door back.

The small low energy lights Walter had installed along the floors in various places made walking in the dark easier, she started to step over to the stairs and stopped and looking at the ramp decided it would be quieter if she walked up the ramp she'd just pass closer to his 'bedroom'. She made it to the top of the ramp and looked towards the area where Walter's bed was but with the book cases and make shift partitions in the way she couldn't see anything.

* * *

For as long as Walter could remember his thoughts had always been about numbers and equations, even when he was asleep his dreams swam in a sea of numbers and expressions that was until about 2 years ago when he first saw her. Now she was always forefront of his thoughts and those numbers which he had always found so intriguing and comforting were boring and irritating. Even the scent of her perfume overrode them and damn, he was sure he could smell it now and it brought a smile to his lips.

* * *

She made her way around to the 'living room', the whole loft was really just one large room, Walter had just kind of blocked off his 'bedroom' with partial walls. The bathroom was the only real room up there. She breathed in a sigh of relief seeing Ralph's project on Walter's coffee table. As she bent to pick it up when she heard Walter speak, "Paige?"

"Walter?" She replied mentally kicking herself.

"Paige, please let me explain." Walter almost pleaded.

"Walter, I really can't do this right now. I just need to pick this up for Ralph for Caltech and then get home to get some sleep." Paige told him in exasperation.

"I understand but, the context, it's really important. I've tried so many times over these last 2 years to tell you. Please?" Walter begged.

* * *

Paige sighed as she sat down on his sofa, "Fine, you won't take no for an answer, what's the context?" She slammed her purse down next to her.

Walter mumbled something and Paige struggled to figure out what he had said. "Walter, you need to speak clearer that made no sense." Paige finally told him.

"I'm sorry, the tickets for the Jazz festival, what I was going to say to you about them is that I had wanted to take you to the festival." Walter told her.

Paige shook her head, "Then why did you give them to me for me and Tim to use?"

"Well, just as I was about to ask you, you got that message from Tim and it intimidated me and so I just gave them to you instead." Walter explained.

"Walter," Paige said through mixed emotions.

"I had called and shut down the restaurant and I changed the room assignments, not out of jealousy per se or as a juvenile prank but because I realized how stupid I had been, sending you off with another man and I didn't want your feelings to deepen before I could get there and tell you." Walter continued.

Paige sighed as tears welled up in her eyes, "Walter,"

Walter continued, "When I had finally gathered the courage, I drove up to the festival to tell you I love you and I have been in love with you since I first met you. But then I saw you walking with Timothy and then I saw you kiss him and it hurt, your smile, the joy on your face, I faltered I couldn't, I couldn't intrude upon your happiness. I had seen you smile a few times around me like that, I knew what it meant and I knew I had screwed up so bad."

One of her tears ran over her eyelid and slowly slid down her face, "Walter, yes, it was a very nice moment and I was happy, but, but Walter it didn't mean what you think it meant."

Walter trudged on, "I've been in relationships before but no one has ever intrigued me like you do. No one has ever calmed me or helped me just by being there. I can just look at you and the chaos that swims through my mind dissipates. But your touch, your voice they're such sweet tortures to me. You know I have some issues with physical contact but when your skin touches mine it is the most perfect thing I have ever felt and it scares me."

* * *

Paige slowly stood up and walked through the makeshift doorway into Walter's 'bedroom'. "Walter, you've known me for two years, what's to be afraid of by telling me these things? Did you think I would laugh or make fun of you?" She asked him almost desperately.

She could see his head slowly nod, as he explained, "I-I don't have a good track record with relationships. Even when they feel like they were working I'd be blindsided as they would tell me it wasn't working and leave me. If the relationship went beyond two months I would end them believing it wouldn't work."

"But Walter, haven't I always been right here? I intercede between you and the world to make sure they understand you and that you understand them. Why wouldn't I understand that about you and me?" Paige knelt down next to his bed and reached out and touched his hand.

Walter's hand opened and closed around her hand, "I know when you took this job it was only in hopes that we could help Ralph and for the better pay to give you both a better life. But I knew you would be perfect for your position and you have proven me right every single day. And I knew," Walter choked, "You would be perfect for," Walter swallowed hard as he choked back more tears, "I knew you would be perfect for me. But I let the experiences of my past to sabotage my present and future."

Paige rubbed her thumb around the back of his hand.

"I know; I know I am so stupid when it comes to you and now I have screwed up so royally and pushed you into the arms of another and now it's too late. I am so sorry. I know you don't need this burden, it's probably best you forget this and I will just do my best to control my impulses and let you be happy with Timothy." Walter said in a sinking voice.

Paige lifted his hand and pressed her lips into the back of his hand and kissed him as tears ran down her face, "Walter, I don't think your stupid and you haven't royally screwed up, it's not good but I believe we can work through it."

"You forgive me then?" Walter asked desperately.

Paige smiled, "Yes, I forgive you, but you have to forgive me too for not giving you a chance earlier to tell me the truth."

"I'd forgive you of anything." Walter said with hope in his voice. "And I promise I will do my best to stay out of your relationship with Timothy. But I might need you to not be so openly affectionate with each other around me please. I-I don't think I could take it. My heart screams out for you and it really hurts when you are."

Paige looked at him with a smile and eyes full of tears, "Walter, you don't believe the heart is anything but a circulatory muscle."

"Oh Paige, I was wrong, so very wrong. I know emotions don't come from the heart but it feels so right to say that my heart is so full of love for you." Walter told her.

Paige reached up with her free hand and wiped the tears of joy from her face, "Do you know how long I have waited for you to say words to that effect to me Walter?"

Walter shook his head.

"I've loved you for almost as long as I have known you, I struggled and fought against it because work romances, sometimes they really go wrong and I didn't want to jeopardize your relationship with Ralph. Ralph is almost as crazy about you as I am. I knew when I saw you in that car on the cliff how much I truly loved you and it was only amplified when I kissed you laying there in that hospital bed. But then when we kissed in the Garage after the satellite mission, Walter, you rocked my world in ways it has never moved and it scared me." Paige told him as she drew nearer to him.

"That kiss was so awesome, I have never felt anything like it, it was like every good feeling I have ever felt all rolled into one feeling and then multiplied a thousand fold." Walter told her with a smile.

* * *

Paige smiled at his smile and then her brow furrowed, "Why are your eyes closed? It's so dark in here you can't really see much." Paige's eyes opened wide in disbelief, "Walter, are you asleep?"

Walter's head nodded a little.

"I can't believe I have been having the best conversation with anyone in my life and the other person has been asleep this whole time." Paige felt cheated.

"I'm sorry," Walter said softly.

Paige considered that, "Walter, can you remember this conversation?"

Walter nodded.

"Will you remember it for me?" Paige asked.

"If you want me to, I'd do anything for you." Walter told her.

Paige smiled, "Then I want you to remember this conversation forever and I need you to wake up now."

Walter's eyes flashed wide open and he looked about, "Paige? Wha-What are you doing," he paused as his eyes darted from side to side rapidly almost as if he was speed reading.

Paige smiled as she watched.

Walter's eyes stopped moving, fresh tears welled up in them and he looked at Paige as he reached over and turned the small reading lamp that was on his night stand on.

They both closed their eyes even though the light was only a 5 watt bulb the darkness of the loft had their eyes straining against the light.

"Did you mean what you said?" Walter asked almost desperately. His heart was beating faster and harder than he had ever recalled.

Paige nodded as she continued to hold his other hand, "Did you mean what you said?"

Walter smiled, "I did, I do. I honestly meant every word."

* * *

Paige bent over and kissed him several times, each time the length of the kiss grew until the last one lasted several minutes and their tongues had battled with each other.

Walter stared back at Paige after their lips parted with wonder on his face.

Paige smiled, "Was it good for you too?"

Walter could only nod, his brain had lost the power of speech but he wasn't complaining it was a small price to pay for the sheer joy he had just experienced. The kiss had blown the kiss at their desks completely out of the atmosphere.

"I've got to get Ralph's project and get back home. Can I trust you not to revert to where you were before this conversation?" Paige asked almost in fear.

Walter smiled and nodded as he tried to speak, but his vocal cords were not responding well to his commands and it sounded more like some kind of guttural language.

"Do I need to call for an ambulance?" Paige asked slightly concerned.

Walter shook his head, "G-give me a moment." Walter finally squeaked out.

Paige closed her eyes and smiled as Walter reached out and caressed her face, "I'm going to have to have an uncomfortable talk with Tim before we go any further Walter. Do you understand that?"

Walter nodded his head, "Whatever you need to do, as long as you're coming back to me."

Paige smiled as she stood up, "I'll see you in the morning handsome."

"See you in the morning gorgeous," Walter responded. He watched with longing as she walked out to the 'living room'. He listened to her footsteps as she made her way down the stairs and heard her punch the buttons for the alarm and then he sighed as the door closed behind her.

* * *

Paige sat in her car with her eyes closed and a huge smile on her face. "Finally, we finally got through all of the garbage." Her smile got bigger as she thought about their future together. She started her car, "How do I tell Ralph? When do I tell him? Together, we need to tell him together. Probably tonight we should go out to dinner the three of us. We can tell him then." Paige said out loud.

Paige was singing the whole way back to her place. As she turned off her car and got out she saw the time was almost 2:30 in the morning. "Going to be a short night for me, oh Lord, how am I going to explain this to Tim? I told him there was nothing in LA, nothing between Walter and me." She considered it for several minutes. "Oh well, life happens, I'm sure he'll be unhappy but I can't throw this away."

* * *

She opened her door and stepped in and after shutting and locking the door she placed Ralph's project on the counter for him. She missed the flowers in a vase a few feet away from his project. She stopped and looked in Ralph's room and saw him sound asleep. She walked in with a smile, "I think you are going to be so happy after dinner tonight baby," she whispered and then bent down and kissed his forehead.

As she strolled into her bedroom she didn't even realize all the candles in her room were burning and she hit the wall switch turning on the overhead light, Tim said, "Hey Paige."

Paige jumped and screamed, "How the hell did you get in here?"

Tim smiled, "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you, but I thought since our weekend got messed up we could just have a night together."

"Are you kidding me? With my son in the next room, get out of my bed and get out of my home." Paige demanded.

Tim frowned, "What's going on Paige and where have you been?"

Paige glared at him, "Where I have been isn't any of your business. But I think it is pretty presumptuous for you to break and enter into my home and then crawl your ass into my bed. Now get out before I call the cops."

Ralph walked out of his room and over to her open door, "Mom, what's wrong?"

"Oh my God, Ralph, baby, I want you to go back to your bed now. Please." Paige told him trying to limit his field of vision.

Tim was bent over pulling his pants up his legs.

"What the hell is he doing here?" Ralph steamed. "Did I hear you say he broke into our house?"

Ignoring his language for the moment, "Ralph, it's okay, we'll talk in the morning and he is leaving this minute." Paige looked over and glared at Tim again.

Ralph was disgruntled but went back to his room.

"Look, I know you are upset and maybe this was a bad idea on my part but I thought we were on the same page of this relationship." Tim tried to explain as he pulled on his shirt.

Paige shook her head, "You want to know what page we're on in this relationship? The page we are on is where you go into Homeland tomorrow morning, early and request immediate transfer out of Scorpion and you never come near any one of us ever again."

"What? What the hell Paige? Surely we can talk about this." Tim said as he walked over towards her.

She threw her arms up and stepped around him. "Look, just get whatever you came here with and leave and do not come back. Ever! We're done."

"We'll talk about this in the morning at the Garage." Tim told her.

Paige shook her head, "No, we won't. You are going to Homeland and request immediate transfer from Scorpion. Go find yourself a new Mentor; Cabe is off limits to you as are the rest of us."

Tim gave her a smirk, "See you in the morning at the Garage." He told her as he left her bedroom.

"If I see you at the Garage I will call the authorities." Paige told him as she slammed the front door behind him.

She locked her door and picked up her phone and called Cabe.

* * *

Cabe blindly reached over and grabbed his phone, "Gallo."

"Cabe, I know it's a bad time but we got a problem." Paige told him.

"Paige? What's up kid?" Cabe asked.

Paige told Cabe what had just happened with Tim. "I told him I want him to go to Homeland in the morning and request and immediate transfer out of Scorpion and to stay away from all of us. He gave me a smirk and just said he'd see me at the Garage in the morning. Cabe, I want him gone."

Cabe was pissed, "That ass, don't worry kid, I got this. Try and get some sleep."

Paige smiled, "Thanks Cabe, sorry I had to call you."

"That's what I am here for kid, to take care of my kids." Cabe told her honestly.

"I love you too Cabe," Paige told him as she hung up.


End file.
